Chefs de Missions from over 50 countries met in Baku today to receive an update on the preparations for next year’s Islamic Solidarity Games from the Baku 2017 Operations Committee (AISGOC)

The Chefs de Mission, who will lead their National Olympic Committee (NOC) during the Games and are responsible for all their athletes and team officials, met during a two-day visit to Baku, where they attended a series of seminars on a wide range of topics including athlete accommodation, accreditation, ceremonies and transport operations

As part of this event, the Chefs de Mission were also able to visit a number of the state-of-the-art venues that will be used during the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games, including the Baku Olympic Stadium and National Gymnastic Arena as well as the Athletes Village.

The seminar is also designed to provide an opportunity for the Chefs de Mission to familiarise themselves with all aspects of logistical planning and operations ahead of next year’s Games, in order that they have the latest information about Baku 2017 and can ensure their teams are prepared accordingly.

The Seminar was hosted by Mr. Azad Rahimov, CEO of AISGOC and also attended by senior members of the ISSF (Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation), including Secretary General, Mr.FaisalAbdulaziz AL-Nassar, Mr. Saeed Abdulghaffar Hussain, Deputy Secretary General and Mr. Khalid Abdullah Bin Al-Shaykh, General Director.

Speaking at the Chefs de Mission seminar, Mr. Azad Rahimov,CEO, AISGOC said: “The Chef du Mission seminar is an important milestone on our road to Baku 2017. It gives us an opportunity to share our operational and logistical plans around the Games and to get any feedback that will help us fine-tune our planning.”

“We are delighted that Chefs du Mission from over 50 countries were able to travel to Baku to take part in this event and we look forward to working closely with them over the next five months to help ensure the Games are delivered to the highest possible standard.”

“As part of this seminar, we will give the Chefs du Mission the opportunity to visit some of the stadia being used during the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games. Not only will it give them the chance to familiarize themselves with these venues, but it will also serve to highlight the level of preparations that we have undertaken.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games is an exciting multi-sport event uniting the Islamic world, which will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan from 12 – 22 May 2017.

Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku was awarded the Games at the General Assembly of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) in Jeddah in July 2013.

The Organising Committee was set up by the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, honourable Ilham Aliyev and the leadership of the Organising Committee has been assigned to First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva. The Azerbaijan Islamic Solidarity Games Operations Committee (AISGOC) will organize and run the Games in cooperation with the ISSF.